I am familiar and admire the work of maybe half the artists in this show so it should be worth the trip to P'burg! Harry and I spent some time in P'burg awhile ago. He was writing an article on the burgeoning art scene and I considered investing in a studio there. There is a wonderful can-do energy in this small village as well as the promise of cheap real estate! Ignatius of Ignatius Hats left Carytown for Petersburg a long time ago! Sol Cooper Gallery is the result of this wave of art energy and promises to bring a high level of art and dialogue to the current scene.

Andras Bality, whose work is pictured above, produced a memorable show for Page Bond Gallery earlier this season. I thought it was his best show ever with large, playful, ambitious images from his new life as a husband and father. A young, talented painter I know thought the show was ripe with sentimentality and dissed it completely. Perhaps it could be seen as sentimental - which is a big no no... maybe that's why I love the show - because he was adressing a giant no-no? Either way, it was splendid work and I am sure whatever Andy shows at Sol Cooper will be worth a look.

Below: Earlier this year Andy answered questions about his paintings on view at the Page Bond Gallery.